Back in the
day, even second-tier American orchestras had contracts with major record
companies, thereby insuring a steady flow of product. If you wanted to know what
was going on in Chicago with Fritz Reiner, or in Boston with Charles Munch, or
in New York with Leonard Bernstein, all you had to do was head for the "New
Releases" bin in your local record store. These days, as you already know,
union contracts have made the cost of recording sessions prohibitive, so most of
the major orchestras have taken to releasing their own performances on in-house
labels. In New York, the Philharmonic has made Alan Gilbert's entire first
season as music director available as downloads you can purchase directly from
the orchestra's web site, but this does a Luddite like me little good. So here
we are three years into his tenure, and this new SACD release of Nielsen
symphonies on the Dacapo label is really my first opportunity to listen
seriously to his work.

It is perhaps foolhardy to judge Gilbert's work
with the orchestra from this limited sampling, but of course being a foolhardy
critic that's not going to stop me. In general, I had a very positive response
both to Gilbert's interpretations and the playing of the orchestra. Gilbert,
now forty-six, reminds me a lot of the young Bernard Haitink. Like Haitink then
and now, Gilbert possesses a perfect ear for balances. I've never heard
Nielsen's sometimes dense orchestration sound so detailed and transparent.
Those who know this music well will be startled at just how much they hear. No
conductor has ever taken me deeper into these scores: the inner voices are
lucidly delineated. That same clarity is enhanced not only by the playing of the
musicians who make the most of even the smallest expressive opportunity, but
also by the engineering that projects a realistic (and thrilling) soundstage
that's as wide as it is deep. Like Haitink, Gilbert has the ability to make
well judged and convincing tempo choices. This is especially important in the
symphonies of Nielsen. In the first movement of the "Sinfonia espansiva,"
for example, there should be a sense of explosive, ecstatic momentum that takes
one's breath away. Play this music too slowly, and it stalls out, turns to
sludge. But play it too fast and it becomes hectic, frantic, the very opposite
of the vibrant joy the composer means to communicate. Here, as elsewhere,
Gilbert's tempos seem exactly right, urgent without any sense of haste.

Some critics have complained that Gilbert's
otherwise commendable performances lack the kind of white-hot intensity that one
associates with Leonard Bernstein. I guess there was no way for a young
American-born conductor to take the helm of the New York Philharmonic and not be
compared to his celebrated predecessor, but in fact Gilbert's accounts of
these two symphonies compare very well to Bernstein's. It's certainly true
that Bernstein generates more heat, but there's much to be said for
Gilbert's lean, athletic approach, his ability to "float like a butterfly,
sting like a bee" (as Muhammad Ali might have put it). What's never in doubt
is Gilbert's affection for this music. That he was able to communicate that
affection to these notoriously obstreperous musicians and transform them into
true believers suggests a happy future for his tenure as Music Director. I
should add that soprano Erin Morley and tenor Joshua Hopkins bring a sense of
serenity and warmth to their wordless arias in the "andante pastorale" of
the "Sinfonia espansiva." In Gilbert's hands, the dreamy interplay of
voices and orchestra is spine tingling, altogether magical.

I
haven't said much about the music itself, but suffice to say that along with
Shostakovitch and Sibelius, Nielsen is one of the great symphonists of the 20th
Century. If you don't know these works, these thrilling, gorgeous-sounding
performances will provide the perfect introduction. Those already addicted to
Nielsen will also find much to enjoy here. Gilbert's freshness and vitality
will make you fall in love with these works all over again. I would once have
advised those looking for a complete set of all six symphonies to choose the one
by Micheal Schonwandt and the Danish Symphony (currently available on Naxos),
but after hearing this, I'd now suggest that you be patient and wait for the
remainder of Gilbert's cycle to appear. Judging from this first installment,
it promises to be something very special.